The roads in northern BC are long and empty. The gas tanks on our bikes are very voluminous, so running out of fuel is not a significant risk, but as far as freshly cooked food is concerned, it can be slim pickings. One of the key steps during the day is to take note when we have internet access, and scout eating establishments along the way for the next couple of days. I’ve had Tatogga Lake Resort marked on the map since the day before, and it was only a 25 minute ride away from our campsite. The owner of the place seems to run everything by himself, and with not much competition in the vicinity, it’s an obvious spot to have breakfast.
While our order of eggs, toast and bacon was being prepared (it was edible but not memorable), we helped ourselves to self serve coffee, and alternated between admiring the numerous taxidermy animals filling the spacious dining room, and enjoying the StarLink internet. The guy running the lodge and restaurant was super excited about the internet access, as indeed cell signal is almost non-existent along the road and having a fast connection like this is amazing. The walls here were covered in historical photographs, a lot of the furniture and decor was also vintage, and the placemats featured detailed maps of the area. I can see this being a great place to spend some time, should you want to, say, wait out a bout of bad weather.
One of the things we noticed was that our front tires were starting to look a little worn. Checking the availability of shops carrying motorcycle tires in this area we found that the nearest place would be in Whitehorse, a casual 750 kilometers away. How bad could it be?
We kept riding north past lakes, mountains, marshes, and yes, more bears. This time Alex even managed to get a half decent photo. We found a cool dirt track leading down from the road to a turquoise lake, ending with a flat space enough for a lovely campsite. It was only 1:30 pm, so tempting as it was, we decided to continue to Watson Lake, the next notable town. There we hoped to arrive early enough to get something tasty for dinner. It was only a quick 3 hour ride away, and the meal we got in Laurie’s Bistro was really satisfying.
I don’t often promote specific eateries, but I find riding in this part of the world, with long days and remote landscapes, good food can make a significant contribution to restore your energy and lift your spirits. So all lifted, we checked out the one Watson Lake attraction – the Sign Post Forest – and headed back into the wilderness, onto Alaska Highway, in search of a decent campsite.
We stopped at a Yukon territorial campground right by the road. There we fought the mighty mosquitoes and chatted with another rider who was making his way back south after having a life altering experience seeing the Denali mountain in all its 20,310 feet glory.
Still half way to Whitehorse, we inspected our tires and it looked like we put a couple thousand miles on them since the last check, not a couple hundred. Something about the road surface here just destroys the rubber. We left bright and early at 6 am to make it to the city before the motorcycle shop closes. We still made a few stops, notably at the George Johnston museum in Teslin. George was a very forward thinking individual who in the early 20th century went out of his way to buy things like a Kodak camera and a Chevrolet sedan to bring to this Tlingit community – back when there weren’t even any roads around. His photo archives span 40 years and offer an amazing look into the past of this remote community.
We made it to Whitehorse at 2:30 pm, and headed straight for the shop.
– Hello, we called about changing tires, and here we are, aren’t you guys excited?
– Sorry, – says Michel, a barely polite service desk guy with a mild French accent, – it’s too late in the day, can’t help you.
– But you said to come before 3 pm, and it’s before 3 pm!
– It doesn’t matter, it’s too late, you can choose your tires now but you have to come back tomorrow after 8 am to have them installed.
After 8 but before 3 is a generous range, and one of my vices is I like to sleep in when presented with an opportunity. After 3 nights of camping, I did not want to part with the comfy bed of our Airbnb any sooner than I had to. What I’m trying to say is that we rolled up to the shop at 10 am and Michel told us that we were too late again, his French accent getting stronger to show how disappointed he was with us.
After some begging and pleading he changed his mind and even provided us some stands from the shop to begin taking off the wheels in the designated area outside the shop. A half dozen other motorcycles were there doing the same thing. The communal spirit was strong and it was all good fun, seeing other people struggle, making jokes about how ugly their bikes were and so on. In reality, everyone was super friendly, didn’t care that we all rode bikes of completely different shapes and sizes, and helped each other as much as we all could. It was the most fun tire change I’ve ever had. Ten minutes didn’t pass since we took off both front wheels and the chief mechanic runs over, points at our bikes and asks us why we are using his stool for a bike stand. We both laugh in a frustrated way and join Michel inside for a proper resolution.
Following that, we still had another 30 hours of sunlight in the day, and decided to circumnavigate Schwatka Lake, a reservoir on the Yukon River just upstream from the city. The temperature was soaring to 30 ºC, it was a Friday afternoon, and it seems half the city was enjoying the cool water. We could not resist and also took a dip midway through our hike.
It appeared a non trivial amount of people in Whitehorse were new immigrants who come to the city to accelerate their process of getting permanent residency in Canada. Hired by large corporations, working mainly in the service sector, they have a choice: live and work in a popular place like Toronto or Montreal, and have to renew a work visa all the time, or come to Whitehorse and get fast tracked to residency after only a few months. It was the case with the server in the Mexican restaurant we visited, and the person renting part of the house we stayed in. For what it’s worth, in the summer this place is actually rather pleasant, the climate being warm and dry, and the endless days – just a cherry on top. Whitehorse positively surprised me.
